Barbancourt 8-Year Rum

Also known as Barbancourt 5-star, this is a very interesting rum. It is the mid-tier offering of the Haitian distillery, higher quality than their 4 year version but falling below their 15 year bottle.

Barbancourt 8 year bottles, old bottle design and new

The nose is very typical for a rum. The first impression is distinctly one of alcohol, but there is an under-scent of oak and sugarcane. Subsequent sniffing reveals a sweet flower-like quality.

This rum has a sharp quality upon initial taste, making its sugar origins very evident while avoiding the folly of being too sweet. It is not the smoothest rum by any means, but it avoids being too harsh and falls dead center on the scale between smooth and harsh.

The first sip has a bit of astringency to it, but once allowed to coat the tongue this disappears and is replaced by something akin to the taste one gets when biting into a piece of raw sugar cane. Very nice, and usually a quality that is lost in the process of making a rum. I have heard that this rum is made from sugar rather than processed molasses which is likely what imparts this quality.

After having a few sips and reflecting on the aftertaste, I would have to rate this well above average. The taste lingers while all hints of astringency disappear. No new flavors are revealed, but those that are present seem to become more prominent in a very pleasant way.

All in all, this rum is a very pleasant experience. It is well suited for sipping, which is something most rums are unable to claim.

I have heard that the distillery suffered some serious production setbacks when many barrels were lost during the 2010 earthquakes that ravaged Haiti, including many barrels of their 15 year variety. The good news is that production has resumed, and the flow to liquor stores will not be interrupted.